Utah Approves Bitcoin Law, However, Will Not Hold Reserves

The U.S. state of Utah seemed to be on track to become one of the first states with its own Bitcoin reserve. However, after the Senate vote on March 7, that celebration has been cancelled. Bill HB230, officially the “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments”, passed through the Senate with a 19-7-3 vote, but the major cornerstone – that coveted reserve clause – was scrapped. Now it’s up to Governor Spencer Cox to sign it.

What remains?

Basic protection for Utah’s crypto-fans: you are allowed to store, mine, run a node, and stake your BTC without hassle. Nice, but the real bang was in that scrapped reserve. It would have given the state treasurer the green light to pump up to 5% of certain funds into digital assets, with a market capitalization above $500 billion. And guess what? Only Bitcoin currently meets that requirement.

It seemed so promising. In the second reading, that reserve clause was still okay, but in the third and final round, it was unplugged. The House of Representatives voted 52-19-4 in favor of the bare bill. Senator Kirk Cullimore, one of the driving forces behind HB230, explained:

“There was too much unrest about those reserve plans and the early stage of such a policy. So we kicked it out.”

From pioneer to plan B

Until March 7, the buzz was that Utah would make history, said Dennis Porter of the Satoshi Action Fund in February. But now? Arizona and Texas are taking the lead in the Bitcoin reserve race. According to Bitcoin Laws, their bills have already passed Senate committees and are waiting for the final blow. Of the 31 state proposals for BTC reserves, 25 are still in the running, including Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio. But states like Pennsylvania and Montana have already seen their plans end up in the trash.

All this is happening while Trump, on the same March 7, signed a federal Bitcoin reserve. It will be filled with BTC from criminal cases, and the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce must come up with smart, budget-neutral tricks to score more.

What now?

Utah may be taking a step back, but the BTC train keeps rolling. No reserve, but a foot in the door for crypto freedom. Will this be enough, or should they have gone big? What do you think – will Utah bounce back, or will other states steal the show?